State Seeks To Modify Decree On Dcys

State Asks That Decree On Dcys Be Altered

Papers Are Filed With Federal Judge

May 12, 1992|By VALERIE FINHOLM; Courant Staff Writer

Saying Connecticut's commitment to children is at stake, the state filed papers Monday asking a federal judge to modify a consent decree that orders sweeping changes in the state Department of Children and Youth Services.

In the motion filed by the attorney general on behalf of Gov. Lowell P. Weicker Jr. and DCYS Commissioner Rose Alma Senatore, the state asked for the "lead role" in implementing a consent decree issued 17 months ago in response to a class-action lawsuit.

State officials said the DCYS -- the agency accused in the lawsuit of failing to protect abused and neglected children in the state -- is best qualified to implement quickly the changes ordered by the decree.

The decree, agreed to by the state, ordered an overhaul of the state agency, including major reductions in caseloads for social workers, uniform procedures for investigating complaints of abuse and neglect, and the establishment of a training academy for social workers.

The lead role now is under the jurisdiction of a monitoring panel appointed by U.S. District Judge Robert C. Zampano, who issued the decree in December 1990.

The independent panel consists of Zampano, who is chairman; lawyer Patricia Wilson-Coker, a representative chosen by the DCYS; and Dr. Theodore Stein, a professor and nationally recognized child-services expert from New York. Stein was chosen by the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union, which filed the suit.

When Zampano issued the court decree, he essentially placed the child welfare agency in receivership, under the auspices of the monitoring panel. Senatore was appointed to head the agency shortly after the decree was issued. Almost from the start, the relationship between the strong-willed commissioner and the equally strong-willed panel has been strained.

Martha Stone, a lawyer with the civil liberties union, was angry Monday when she heard about the motion.

"There is a long-standing history of this agency not to meet the needs of kids; that's the reason for this court intervention in

the first place," she said. "Nothing we've seen so far tells us that this administration is any different. Unfortunately, their efforts are now being put on trying to modify something that hasn't even been given a chance."

In the sharply worded 50-page motion filed in U.S. District Court in New Haven, the monitoring panel was described as being overly concerned with minutiae, while falling behind on substantive changes ordered by the decree.

"Incredibly, the panel has selected furniture and wall paint for the future training academy ... yet DCYS has not been permitted to prioritize the agency's training needs, and has only been allowed to do minimal work on the curriculum for the academy," the brief says.

The motion also alleges that the panel has excluded the child welfare agency from any real participation in enacting the decree, and as a result, progress in attaining many significant goals has been extremely slow.

"It is critical for the department to bring all of its resources and expertise to bear on the implementation of this consent decree. We are in the best possible position to take the lead role," Senatore said in a press release issued by the governor's office.

In his brief, the attorney general said there still is no overall implementation plan for the decree, and that only three draft manuals of the 16 required by the decree have been issued.

The manuals are considered vital to running the agency. Those issued so far reveal a lack of understanding of state law, the DCYS mandate and the cooperation needed among state agencies, the brief says.

Wilson-Coker, reached at the monitoring panel's New Haven office Monday afternoon, said she had not seen a copy of the motion and could not comment.

"Obviously, there are two sides to anything," she said.

Stone said the panel has accomplished some goals, including establishing the training academy, which is "up and running."

She said more social workers have been hired and caseloads have been eased.

She described the motion as "bureaucratic bickering over turf" and said, "I wish the efforts being put into this motion would be spent trying to work with the panel.